This is a photo of a local, free range hen. I had the pleasure of eating some of her and her friends’ eggs, so I decided to compare and contrast them with cage free eggs from Whole Foods.

These 4 eggs are from local and free-range hens. The two white-ish eggs actually have a green shell and come from Aracauna hens. All of the local hens spend lots of time walking around outside and get to eat lots of kitchen scraps and surplus from the owner’s garden.

The egg on the left is a cage free large brown egg from Whole Foods. These are the eggs I usually buy. The one on the right is from one of the local hens. There is a big difference in the color and size of the yolk and the albumen (egg white), especially up close. The photo doesn’t do the best job demonstrating this, but the difference is quite clear.

This is 4 store-bought cage free eggs beaten.

This is 4 local eggs beaten. Big color difference here. Also, the store-bought eggs were thinner and kind of frothy, while the local fresh eggs had a thicker consistency. Maybe this is because there was more yolk in the local fresh eggs.

I made a simple scramble. I sauteed some red onion in olive oil. Added some green pepper, and then the eggs to make two identical scrambles. Both were lightly salted and peppered. I didn’t make anything fancy so I could truly judge the taste of the eggs. The scramble on the left is from the Whole Foods eggs. It is much paler than the local eggs scramble on the right. Also, the flavor of the local eggs was really amazing. They were simply the best eggs I can ever remember eating. The store-bought eggs were bland, and not pleasant to eat next to something so far superior. They revealed themselves as better suited to be masked with other flavors, such as cheese, sauces, etc., than to be enjoyed for what they are, like the local eggs, which were exceptionally delicious.

I love using blue corn. It makes dinner more fun when corn bread and corn cakes are blue instead of yellow. Look for it in Whole Foods or in the natural and organic section of your local supermarket.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup blue corn meal
• 1 TB onion powder
• 1/2 TB garlic powder
• 1.5 tsp (or 1 tsp if at altitude) baking powder
• 1 tsp (or 3/4 tsp at altitude) baking soda
• pinch sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• pinch Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
• 2 eggs
• 2 TB evaporated cane juice
• 1 cup plain rice milk (go ahead and use real milk if you stock it)
• 3 TB walnut oil

This is by far the best butter I’ve ever made.

First, caramelize a yellow or sweet onion. I chopped one up and added it to 2 tablespoons of olive oil that was heating in a pan. Start on medium high heat to get it going, and then drop the heat to medium low, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or so until they are nicely golden and fragrant. Let the onion mixture cool.

Then, in the KitchenAid mixer with the wire whisk attachment, add 1/4 cup (or more depending on how much butter you really want to make) and beat on speed 10 (don’t forget the splash guard) for 3-4 minutes until you have butter. Then add the onions and mix again until well combined. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. I enjoyed this butter with grilled ciabatta bread.

These cupcakes were so incredibly delicious, made with fresh carrots from the Boulder farmers market and crystalized ginger from Savory Spice Shop. This recipe make 12 cupcakes.

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 TB ground cinamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped crystalized ginger
• 3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
• 1/2 cup plus 1 TB walnut oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups grated carrots